


when the birds do sing

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: our definition of perfect [17]
Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Post-Season/Series 09
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 17:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Flynn Reagan celebrates his first Easter Sunday.





	when the birds do sing

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the poem "Spring" by William Shakespeare.

Services began at ten o’clock in the morning on Easter Sunday. The alarm clock on Eddie’s bedside table began going off promptly at seven.

Jamie groaned, releasing her from his embrace and rolling away, taking a large portion of the comforter with him. “Make it stop,” he pleaded tiredly, his words muffled by the pillow he’d buried his face in.

Eddie covered a yawn of her own with the back of her hand, using the other to reach across and pat her husband on the shoulder apologetically. “If we want to be at the church in time to meet your family, we need to get up now.”

“Services don’t start for another three hours,” he muttered stubbornly.

“You _have_ tried to dress your son recently, right?” she questioned incredulously. “Forget about the two of us; it’ll take an hour to get _him_ ready.”

Jamie groaned quietly, begrudgingly agreeing with her words. “Fine,” he sighed, tossing aside the covers and climbing from the bed. “I’ll get the baby up,” he told her, leaning down to press a kiss to her brow. “You can have the bathroom first.”

“Thanks, babe,” she called, smiling at him as he exited their bedroom and turned for the nursery. “Hey, if we’ve got enough time, we should grab breakfast at Clark’s again. That omelet was _amazing_.”

“We’ll have time,” he returned before vanishing into their son’s room.

Eddie slipped from beneath the covers and made a beeline for the shower as soon as he was gone, washing up and drying off as quickly as she could. She was in the middle of drying her unruly locks when Jamie reappeared behind her, this time with their ten-month-old in tow.

“Hi, poppet,” Eddie greeted, setting aside the hairdryer for the time being and instead lifting her son from his father’s arms to wrap him in her own. He tugged at a curl for a few seconds, seemingly fascinated by it, before his focus shifted to the collar of her thick robe. “Have you had any breakfast yet?”

“Mama,” he murmured, resting his head on her shoulder. His eyes shut a few seconds later.

“I was headed downstairs to make his bottle. He decided he wanted you more than food,” Jamie explained.

“Oh,” Eddie whispered, running a hand up and down her son’s back. “Go with Daddy and get some milk, okay? Mama’s got to finish getting ready.”

“C’mon, buddy,” Jamie encouraged, holding his hands out for their son. The little boy let himself be handed over easily enough. “Let’s leave Mama in peace.”

Eddie watched them leave, then returned to the task at hand. She quickly finished drying her hair, then went through the process of straightening it. She clipped a small portion back, then began applying foundation and concealer. All in all, it took thirty minutes for her to slip into the dress she’d selected for the occasion and make her way downstairs.

“He’s had his bottle,” Jamie told her when she walked into the living room, standing from his spot on the sofa and handing their son over. “Had a little bit of avocado, too. Loved it.”

“Well, of course,” Eddie cooed, pressing a kiss to her son’s dark hair. “Your taste buds are preparing you for a lifetime of loving guacamole, aren’t they?” She smiled when the infant continued to babble nonsensically, carrying on a conversation with them they weren’t quite able to understand, beyond _Mama_ and _Dada_. “Go get ready,” she ordered her husband. “We are good here. C’mon, sweetheart, let’s read _Goodnight Moon_ while Dad gets dressed.”

“I’ll be down in twenty minutes,” Jamie promised, heading for the stairs and then turning back around. “Ed?”

“Yeah?” she replied, not glancing up from the picture book she held.

“Your shoes don’t match,” he informed her, trying and failing to hide a smirk.

Eddie glanced down, muttering under her breath when she realized he was right. She really needed to stop putting her identical pairs of pumps – one navy, one black – right next to each other. It wasn’t the first time something similar had happened.

“All right, buddy,” she murmured, balancing Flynn on her hip as she stood. “Looks like we’ll be taking a quick trip to Mama’s room, because she looks ridiculous. Let’s go ahead and get you ready too, okay? You’re going to look so _handsome_ in the little outfit Aunt Erin bought you.”

The outfit Jamie’s sister had purchased for the occasion consisted of a pair of light grey trousers with suspenders attached and a sky-blue dress shirt printed with bunny rabbits. It really was one of the most adorable outfits Eddie had ever seen.

“Shoes,” she murmured, slipping on a pair of high-top sneakers the same shade as his pants. “All right, Flynny,” she said, hefting him onto her hip and grabbing the diaper bag from its hook by the nursery door, “I think we’re ready to roll.”

“Shoes,” Jamie reminded her from the bathroom, where he was in the process of shaving.

“Shoes! Darn it,” she muttered, heading for their bedroom. She placed Flynn on the bed for a moment, letting him crawl about – surrounded by pillows, of course – and traded out the blue shoe for the black one she’d meant to grab. “Right. _Now_ we’re ready to roll.”

“Diaper bag?” Jamie checked.

“Got it,” she confirmed, smiling as he came into the room. “Don’t you look handsome.”

“You look beautiful,” he returned, pulling her close for a quick kiss. They both laughed quietly when Flynn whined in protest, obviously not liking his parents being so close when he was between them.

“Well, look at that, Reagan,” she drawled teasingly. “Almost two years of marriage, and you still know how to charm a girl.”

“Easy when the girl’s you,” he replied, following her down the stairs and opening the front door for her. “And it’s only eight-fifteen,” he reported once they’d reached the car and gotten Flynn situated in his car seat. “Plenty of time for Clark’s. You still interested?”

“In food?” Eddie scoffed, shaking her head. “Always.”

“I know,” Jamie sighed amusedly. “Don’t even know why I still ask.”

-o-

 

Nicky was standing outside the church when they arrived, though she was too wrapped up in the conversation she was having with Aidan to take notice of them as they pulled up. As soon as Flynn caught sight of her, however, he began babbling, and, well, it was impossible _not_ to notice them after that.

“Hi, Flynn,” she greeted just as enthusiastically, reaching for him and lifting him carefully from her uncle’s arms. “You look so handsome.” She glanced up at her aunt. “How was the drive out? Traffic wasn’t terrible, was it?”

“It was fine,” Eddie assured her, smiling as her son reached for and was handed over to Aidan. It was a good thing the man was an ADA; made it much easier to immediately trust him with her child. “Your uncle didn’t damage your cousin’s innocent ears even once.”

“Good job, Uncle Jamie,” Nicky congratulated him teasingly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jamie heaved a long-suffering sigh, though he grinned as he reached out to shake Aidan’s hand. “O’Donnell,” he greeted. “How’s it going?”

“Good, sir,” Aidan responded respectfully.

“How about the Harper case?” Eddie questioned curiously. “Nicky said you were the solo prosecutor on it. How’d it go?”

“Guilty on all charges,” Aidan reported, shifting Flynn in his arms. “The girl’s family was happy with it.”

“I’m sure they were. You did good.” Eddie shook her head when Flynn began fussing quietly and reaching for her. “Sorry, Aidan. He doesn’t do well with so many people he knows being around at the same time.”

“It’s fine,” the prosecutor reassured her.

“Jack’s bringing Madi,” Nicky informed them gleefully. “ _Finally_.”

Madeira Lopes was a girl Jack hadn’t shut up about since meeting her at the start of the fall semester. It’d taken him until the week before Thanksgiving to actually do anything about what he was feeling, which was the reason she’d missed out on the previous round of family holiday celebrations.

“They’ve been together half a _year_ , Nicky, not a decade,” Eddie reminded her niece, amused.

“So? You met Grandpa the same day you met Uncle Jamie, didn’t you?”

“Because your grandfather was also her boss,” Jamie pointed out. “Still is, actually. That’s an entirely different set of circumstances.”

“Whatever,” Nicky replied, waving a hand. “I’m just glad to have a chance to gather material to mock him with. He’s never brought a girl home before, has he? Not that I can remember, at least.”

“No,” Jamie sighed. “He hasn’t.”

“Did he mock you after you brought me home?” Aidan questioned, obviously planning to try keeping the peace between cousins.

Nicky nodded. “Incessantly.”

“Oh.” Aidan cleared his throat. “Well. Never mind, then.”

“Never mind what?” Erin questioned, her heels clicking on the stairs as she made her way up. She shook her head at their surprised faces. “I got here two minutes ago. You all just ignored it completely.”

“We were talking about Jack’s girlfriend,” Eddie offered, which, honestly, in the family she’d married into, was more than enough of an explanation.

“Ah. Well. I would’ve been here sooner, but I hit some traffic,” Erin explained. “I’m glad I still got here before Danny and the boys, though. It’ll be nice to hold being the good child over his head for another year.” She shrugged when Jamie pointed to himself. “You always show up early; it’s expected of you now. Doesn’t count.”

“So my punctuality is a problem now?” Jamie questioned incredulously.

“No,” Erin denied. “It just keeps you from getting good-kid points, that’s all.”

“That’s not something Dad actually keeps track of, you know.”

“I do,” Erin assured her brother. “That doesn’t mean I don’t love holding it over Danny’s head. What?” she questioned when her brother shot her an unamused look. “You grew up with him, too. You know what he’s like.”

“Fair point,” Jamie conceded. “Ah. There they are now. Before Dad and Gramps.”

“Wonders never cease,” Erin muttered under her breath, turning to greet her elder brother and her nephews. “Did you hit enormous amounts of traffic or something, Daniel?”

“It’s nine-thirty, sis,” Danny returned promptly. “Thirty minutes from now would’ve been on time. As it is, we’re early.”

“If you say so,” Erin replied, shaking her head as she turned to greet the boys and the young girl standing next to Jack. “You must be Madeira. Nice to meet you.”

 “Nice to meet you, too,” the girl returned quietly, her other hand tightening around Jack’s.

Eddie couldn’t help the pang of sympathy she felt for the kid. The Reagans were extremely overwhelming without even trying to be, and meeting them on Easter Sunday? Well, it was a good thing Jamie’d known enough to bring her around the very moment there was a romantic relationship to speak of, because she wouldn’t’ve lasted until Thanksgiving.

“Hi,” she greeted politely, shifting Flynn in her arm as she shook the girl’s hand. “Jack here has been talking about you since the two of you met. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“He talks about all of you, too,” Madi informed her. “He was excited to come home for the weekend. He misses you.”

Eddie smiled at her blushing nephew. “Well. We miss him, too.” She laughed when Flynn reached for the new person before him. “This is Flynn,” she introduced. “He’s a big fan of new people, and also of hair, so I’ll hold off on having you shake _his_ hand. Don’t want him to try to yank it out. He’s got a bit of a grip on him.”

“A bit of a grip?” Nicky scoffed. “He literally pulled out a few strands the other day.”

“He’s dedicated, that’s for sure,” Eddie replied, glancing up when she heard the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot. “And there’re Frank and Henry,” she murmured, relieved.

“They’re later than us all, yet nobody questions them,” Danny muttered, drawing a quiet laugh from his sister-in-law.

“Don’t talk under your breath, Danny,” Henry admonished. “We ran into some traffic.”

“It’s because they explain themselves anyway,” Jamie stage-whispered to his elder brother.

“Do I have to sit in a pew with him?” Danny asked his father, halfway serious.

“Yes,” Frank replied firmly, though a hint of a smile appeared beneath his mustache. “Now come on, the lot of you. We have a pew to claim.”

The service ended a few minutes after twelve, lasting longer due to the religious aspects of the holiday. Flynn slept through most of it, passed back and forth between parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents when he fussed even slightly. By the time they stood to leave the church, he was safely nestled in Erin’s arms.

“You have the car seat,” Erin sighed sadly once they’d reached the parking lot. “That’s the only reason I’m giving him back.” She shook her head at the poorly concealed smirks on her brother and sister-in-law’s faces. “Don’t mock. Do you have any idea how long it has been since I had one so little running around?”

“I do know how old my only niece is, yes,” Jamie informed her teasingly, accepting Flynn and carefully strapping him into his car seat while Eddie placed the diaper bag and her own purse on the floorboard of the passenger-side seat. “I’m assuming everyone’s going to Dad’s for lunch and eggs?”

“Coloring or hunting?” Erin shook her head. “Don’t know why I’m asking; I’ll be there for both.”

“Okay,” Eddie laughed, smiling wryly. “See you there, then?”

Erin nodded, waving goodbye a final time before heading to her own car.

-o-

 

“Oh, look,” Eddie cooed, pointing out the egg she’d just dipped in food coloring to her son. He stared at it, obviously fascinated by the bright pink. “Isn’t it so pretty?” She looked over to her husband. “This’ll be much more fun next year, when we don’t have to worry so much about him trying to drink the dye.”

“He’ll be more likely then than he is now,” Erin informed them from the other side of the table. “Don’t worry, though. It’s why we always buy the organic stuff. No chance of him getting permanent brain damage if he chugs it all.”

“It’s food coloring,” Eddie pointed out. “There shouldn’t be a chance of that anyway, should there?”

Erin shrugged. “Ask my forward-thinking daughter. All I know is it makes it cost thirty bucks instead of three.”

“It’s better for the environment,” Nicky insisted. “And while yes, the stuff in regular food coloring won’t necessarily hurt him, this is all-natural.”

“Again, think the regular stuff is too,” Eddie muttered under her breath, loud enough for only her husband to hear. “I’ve got to say, though, I love doing this. My mom always thought it’d make too much of a mess, so she never let me when I was little.”

“That stinks,” Nicky said. “At least you’re not like that with Flynn.”

“Oh, no,” Eddie agreed. “He’ll get to color eggs and get grass stains on his pants and play in the mud. Won’t you, poppet?” She pressed a kiss to the top of her son’s head as he continued to babble.

“All right,” Henry announced, coming back into the room. “The eggs have all been hidden.”

“Okay,” Eddie murmured, standing from her seat. “You ready to go on an adventure, buddy? Let’s go hunt you some eggs, yeah? I think Grandpa and Gramps put in some of that cereal you like.” They had; it was just about the only thing – other than some sort of toddler fruit-rollup thing that Nicky had found – that they’d put in the things. There wasn’t exactly much their seven-teethed son could successfully chew.

Flynn got into the spirit of the whole thing rather quickly, finding egg after egg with little to no assistance from the rest of the family. On about his fiftieth, he toddled over to Eddie to show it off. “Eh, Mama.”

“I see it,” she replied. “Put it in your basket there with Daddy, okay?” Flynn did as he was told, then toddled away once again, too caught up in his little game to spend too much time focusing on his mother.

“Oh, look,” Eddie murmured, crouching down next to her son as he investigated another plastic egg. “That one’s blue, Flynny.” She smiled when he picked it up and placed it in the basket his father was holding low enough for him to reach. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“Eh,” Flynn replied excitedly.

“It’s another egg, huh? You’ve found about fifty now, buddy. You’ll be a happy camper when you get to open them all up, won’t you?” She glanced over at her father-in-law. “You weren’t kidding when you said he’d be spoiled, were you?”

Frank shrugged. “I never kid when it comes to spoiling my grandchildren,” he informed her. Behind his moustache, Eddie could detect a hint of a teasing smile.

“Dad, there’s probably six dozen eggs in here,” Jamie protested, lifting the basket to prove his point. “And he’s not even done.”

“We did it for you,” Henry pointed out. “We did it for your niece and nephews. We weren’t going to leave Flynn out of things.”

Jamie sighed the sigh that told Eddie he wasn’t actually annoyed but wanted the people around him to think he was. In reality, she knew he appreciated all the traditions his father and grandfather were trying to keep alive with Flynn. There was a time he’d not thought he’d ever have children to pass any of those traditions down to. For him, that meant things mattered more to him. Those who knew him knew simply from the look on his face that the very last emotion he was feeling was annoyance.

“There are still a few left to find, aren’t there?” Eddie murmured, taking Flynn’s pudgy hand and allowing him to guide her away to the next egg, a bright green one hidden in plain sight within a few yards of them.  “There you go,” Eddie encouraged, smiling at the happy grin on her son’s face as he placed the egg in his basket. “You’re doing great, _beba_.”

It took him less than five minutes to locate the final egg, and then they all headed inside. Despite the fact that spring was officially upon them, New York City in early April was still a little brisk. It would be nice to return to the warmth of the living room once again.

Dinner was ready less than half an hour later – Easter Sunday dinners were always early, and then the family spent the rest of the day talking, playing games, and generally just spending time with each other – and Eddie shook her head in exasperation when Flynn steadfastly refused to remain still, therefore making it nearly impossible to strap him into his highchair.

“Is he okay?” Madi questioned nervously. While the girl hadn’t taken easily to the other members of the Reagan family, she’d taken to Flynn almost instantly, and he seemed to be a big fan of hers, as well.

“He’s fine,” Eddie assured the young girl. “He’s just at the age where he’s not happy unless he’s wandering, that’s all. As soon as there’s food in front of him, he’ll forget all about his need for speed.”

That much proved true; Flynn’s fussing ended the second the first dish was placed on the table. It was Sean’s turn to say the prayer, and he did so quickly. The second everyone murmured amen and crossed themselves, forks were scraping against plates.

“How much of it is sugar?” Jamie asked his father after a few moments.

“None of it,” Frank assured him. “Well. None of it’s traditional candy, at least,” he amended after a moment. “It’s all perfectly within the safe limits for a kid that size.”

“The boy only has so many teeth, Jameson,” Henry pointed out from his end of the table. “Nobody’s trying to make them fall out.”

Eddie had to bite her bottom lip to hold back her laughter. “Well,” she said once she’d regained control of herself. “I think it was a pretty great first Easter.”

Flynn’s babble might’ve been unintelligible, but she was pretty sure he meant for it to be in agreement with her.

**Author's Note:**

> dušo - honey  
> beba - baby 
> 
> I'll be going back to the time before this, as Flynn wasn't even six months old in the last thing I wrote and is eleven months old in this, but I wanted to get this out while it was still Easter (which it is, at least for me).
> 
> EDIT 06/10/19: I just edited the heck out of this for the sake of my own sanity, so if you're having another readthrough and notice a lot has changed, that's why.


End file.
